Sin UILTIMATE optimization

[Radox]

Hello, I am a HUGE fan of Sin and btw, it remains my favourite FPS to this day (screw Half-Life, RTCW, Far Cry, STALKER etc). That's why I spent the last 6 months creating something that can be referred to as a "mod". It fixes many issues and adds many new features to the SINGLE-PLAYER of SiN.

Here is a very incomplete list of things it includes (because I don't remember all the fixes i made :

- In the Over FCB level (intro), the beginning dialog between the two thugs is longer and Blade shows later, not during their converastion. Also, the Rocket turrets are much more stronger, for increased action time.

- The player cannot pickup the Assault rifle up until the Abandoned buildings level, because all of the thugs in Bank are armed with Shotguns and Magnums only.

- I fixed most of the dialogs between JC and Blade and made them longer, including some interesting lines that were in the sounds folder, but for some reason were not included in the game.

- The Pulse rifle parts are now in more easy to find locations, so the player almost cannot miss them. That means than in Hidden docks 2, you will have the weapon assembled and ready to use. Later, after finishing the Darwin chambers, you can pick up the Pulse rifle again and use it during the whole last episode! I also added some ammo for the Pulse Rifle throughout the levels to extend its usage.

- The Rockets package now gives 5 rockets instead of 10. I also changed the texture of the package to reflect this change. Also, max amount of rockets is decreased to 50 (I just think 100 rockets is just too much

- Shotgun shells max capacity doubled to 100.

- Energy ammo max capacity increased to 300. Also, pulse ammo packs provide 50 ammo, while small packs (plasma), provide 20.

- I also added secondary objectives to some of the later levels (like Xeno1 & Xeno2) to make the last episode more interesting.

- Added enemies and ammo to the Munt Phoenix level to make it more fun.

- Fixed the Biomass-to-Arena57 bug - now you can return from Biomass and go directly to the 3rd chamber.

- Added some powerups to the levels - now you can pickup Reactive shields and Cloaking device on some levels.

- Changed the sound that plays when you find a secret - it is no longer the same as the one that plays when you complete a Primary objective. (There was a secret.wav in the mission computer sound folder so I decided to use it).

- Changed the sounds of some of the weapons with more realistic, powerful ones.

- Added a 100-health pack to some key locations of the game.

- Tweaked Thrall (the endgame boss) to be more deadly

*And many more stuff that I can't remember.

So, I am waiting for your opinion. Are you interested in playing my mod? If you like the idea, just tell me and I will post the mod for you

Thanks in advance.

[alienmonster]

I'd like to try the mod. I have both the Steam
and boxed retail versions of Sin and I can try
the mod on both of them.

[Radox]

All right then, I'll try to post it later today

[Grandpapa]

Hey, this one sounds cool I really like to try it.

[Radox]

Here you are. Hope this link works...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LFBU5G80

Post any feedback you have. Please

[alienmonster]

I installed the mod but I am having a little trouble.
In the first level (Freeport bank) I can't open the door
upstairs to get the security key.
I'll try reinstlling the mod and going through the level
again

[Radox]

Simply try restarting the level. I haven't done anything with doors in the mod so I guess that's not the case. Btw, which exactly is the door you can't open?

[alienmonster]

Originally Posted by Radox

Simply try restarting the level. I haven't done anything with doors in the mod so I guess that's not the case. Btw, which exactly is the door you can't open?

This is the room that I have trouble using the door to enter.
I had to noclip into this room.
It may be a problem with my own game so I will try to reinstall
and start the game over.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...g?t=1183835731

[Radox]

Thanx for the 'shot.

Hmmm, that sounds pretty strange as this door is never locked. Well, I hope you have no problems with the rest of the levels.

Btw, Sin Wizard 0.99b is in the works In it, I plan to slightly reduce ammo throughout the levels to make the player more careful when wasting ammunition. Also, I will make Thrall even stronger.

[Radox]

Hi again, folks

I am finished with hopefully the last "beta" of Sin Wizard - v0.99B.

Here is a list of some fixes I included in it:

- Added a more beautiful install program that includes detailed readme.

- Slightly reduced ammo and items throughout the levels, as I think they were too overstacked with goodies.

- Further increased health and manueverability of Thrall. After all, the endgame boss must be VERY hard

- Rebound some of the weapon keys. Now the weapons are arranged in order according to their power.

- Some minor flaws have been fixed.

BTW, here's the link. Hope you appreciate it :

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BY507CED

Bye for now.

[alienmonster]

Originally Posted by Radox

Hi again, folks

I am finished with hopefully the last "beta" of Sin Wizard - v0.99B.

Here is a list of some fixes I included in it:

- Added a more beautiful install program that includes detailed readme.

- Slightly reduced ammo and items throughout the levels, as I think they were too overstacked with goodies.

- Further increased health and manueverability of Thrall. After all, the endgame boss must be VERY hard

- Rebound some of the weapon keys. Now the weapons are arranged in order according to their power.

- Some minor flaws have been fixed.

BTW, here's the link. Hope you appreciate it :

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BY507CED

Bye for now.

I'll give this version a try. It's good to see
continued interest in this game.

[Radox]

WAIT! Don't waste your time with the slightly buggy version 0.99b

In a few days I will be ready with v1.0. It will be perfect and with it you will enjoy the game fully

[Radox]

Well, that's all, folks! Finally, it's done! Here comes the FINAL version of Sin Wizard. I hope you appreciate it. I think I managed to finally make it completely flawless, but if you find ANY bugs, don't hesitate to report them here.

Here is the link for the Sin Wizard v 1.00 :

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7H6WP2MI

P.S. - Let's revive SiN!!!

[MadMax]

It's always cool when a fan of the original Sin decides to improve or mod the game. I myself released that "Complete Patch" years back (it's still up for download, btw) that changed some of the dialog, but you seem to have expanded the whole game with your modifications. I'll try your mod the next time I'll play Sin. Good to see some people still love the game!

[Radox]

Thanks, man

I will appreciate any feedback. I tried to clean the mod off any bugs so i hope it will enhance your playing experience of Sin without annoying you with mistakes

[Marston]

Hello, Radox.

Your project shows great promises and I'm very eager to try it. However, the link given above seems dead.

Can you give us a new URL ?

Thanks in advance.

[Radox]

Sure, here you go :

http://www.mediafire.com/?8jm92nbuc1y

But I want your opinion on the mod!

[Marston]

Damn ! (Blade-like voice...)

It may be my firewall but I can't download the file at the given adress.
Can you send it by mail ?

[Marston]

That's it, i've finally managed to download the file. I'll give you my modest opinion as soon as possible.

Thanks again, Radox.

[Radox]

I'd be grateful

[Marston]

I've finally finished the game improved by your mod, Radox. I must say that you did a GREAT job! In fact, I had often the feeling of playing the game for the first time!
The various enhancements are too numerous to be listed, so I will only talk about the most important ones (in my opinion) :

- more fun : hostages are harder to rescue, grunts can be surprising (I really liked the jump on the roof of the abandoned building ! );
- more health packs which allow a more heroic course of action and balanced battles (who was happy to confront the first cyborg with 25% health?;
- better AI and tactics : a "more heroic course of action" doesn't mean that everything is allowed. The opponents know how to dodge and ambushes are not rare;
- new skins for some opponents (snipers...).

And now, some (constructive) criticism ...

- I experienced a clipping problem in the second and third levels (the bank and the subway). I was frozen in place in two occasions (the room in which Blade must jump through a window to gain access to the security computer; the second escalator in the subway station). This bug may be independant of the mod of course and was solved by reloading the level;
- There may be a bug with ammunitions : when a weapon was fully loaded (maximum capacity reached), no ammo was spent afterwards;
- Weapons other than the spear gun are functional underwater;
- The sounds of the weapons lack "punch" (the shotgun in particular). The silenced guns (magnum and assault rifle) are too quiet.

These little defects are minor and don't compromise the pleasure of playing the game. Overall, your mod deserves a 9+ on a scale of 10.

To finish this personal review, I'd like to make 2 suggestions for the last level : 1) allow access to the room with the supplies after leaving. This bastard of Thrall is hard enough to justify it!
2) I may have missed this goodie but I wished I had the IP-36 when I was fighting him. After all, this is the occasion for using this marvel, isn't-it ?

Really, really good job, Radox. How about working on Wages of Sin?...

P.S. : talking about this add-on, is-it possible to use the dual magnums with Sin Wizard?

[Radox]

First, thanks for your appreciation of my work. Second, here are the answers to your inquiries:

- I experienced a clipping problem in the second and third levels (the bank and the subway). I was frozen in place in two occasions (the room in which Blade must jump through a window to gain access to the security computer; the second escalator in the subway station). This bug may be independant of the mod of course and was solved by reloading the level;

---- That's not a problem with the mod. It's part of the game. I have also encountered it twice, but I've been unable to fix it.


- There may be a bug with ammunitions : when a weapon was fully loaded (maximum capacity reached), no ammo was spent afterwards;

----- This is impossible. Maybe you were firing the magnum and the assault rifle? They deplete the clipsize at first, and only after that they begin draining from the ammo reserve

- Weapons other than the spear gun are functional underwater;

----- Yeah, I've been furious with that, but I've been unable to make the weapons don't fire underwater.

- The sounds of the weapons lack "punch" (the shotgun in particular). The silenced guns (magnum and assault rifle) are too quiet.

----- Well, I couldn't find better ones, but if you have some sound files, don't hesitate to send them to me.

To finish this personal review, I'd like to make 2 suggestions for the last level :
1) allow access to the room with the supplies after leaving. This bastard of Thrall is hard enough to justify it!

----- The final boss MUST be very hard! But if you like, I can try to make the door not close upon exit (sound like a hard task, but i'll try).

2) I may have missed this goodie but I wished I had the IP-36 when I was fighting him. After all, this is the occasion for using this marvel, isn't-it ?

----- I can add the IP-36 to the last level, but it will only be visible if you are playing under Wages of Sin.

Really, really good job, Radox. How about working on Wages of Sin?...

----- I think Wages of Sin is much more balanced than SiN and I don't think I can enhance it in any way.

P.S. : talking about this add-on, is-it possible to use the dual magnums with Sin Wizard?

----- Are you serious? Of course it is. Simply install Wages of Sin, then go to New Game, select Play Original SiN and then you've got it - Singleplayer SiN with Dual mags. (And only in that mode will you be able to use the IP-36 on Thrall, too)

I hope I was helpful.

[Marston]

Thanks for this quick answer, Radox.

I had forgotten that it is possible to play Original Sin through its add-on : I deserve some slaps!

I'd be happy if my 2 suggestions were integrated. The final fight would remain a challenge anyway. A single mistake is costly with the enhanced Thrall !

Again, congratulations for this mod which is one of the best I've played.

[Radox]

Allright then, I'll make a personal version for you with the tweaked boss fight, but it'll be available in ... let's say 2 days. Check back on Wednesday for your mod

[Marston]

Thank you, Radox. It's very kind of you.

By the way, and in case you need some sounds for future releases, I 've found some websites with interesting ones. For example :



Yes, they even have the minigun !!!

However, it is likely that some sounds should be improved for game use.